<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>"May 19th" by CryptidofTheKeys</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24274864">"May 19th"</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CryptidofTheKeys/pseuds/CryptidofTheKeys'>CryptidofTheKeys</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>WWE - Freeform, im proud of this and happy with it nonetheless, may not be entirely in character but fuck it, there is some violence in here of course so yeah</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:29:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,938</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24274864</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CryptidofTheKeys/pseuds/CryptidofTheKeys</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>I'm not gonna spoil anything but this is about wrestling characters, Team Hell No to be more specific.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>"May 19th"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stephanie was sitting at her desk, looking through her paperwork and writing some things down on the side before she heard a knock on the door, she smiled and shouted "Come in!" the door then opened and both Kane and Daniel Bryan walked inside, Kane coming right up to the desk and staring Stephanie down "You wanted to see us...?" He questioned, this made Steph's smile widen "Yes I did!" She took a deep breath "I have a proposition for the both of you..." She started, this made the tag team perk up and look at each other, this time Daniel was the one to speak "...We're listening..." Stephanie then continued on "If the two of you can win all the matches you're in until May gets here... Then I will give the both of you a shot at the Tag Team Championships or to make the deal sweeter... Any title you want to go for! But remember, you HAVE to win ALL your matches and then by May, once you figure out which titles you want to go for, come see me and we'll get it all settled"</p><p>Daniel and Kane gave one final look before nodding, Daniel was the one to speak up "Sounds good to us, and all we have to do is just... Beat ALL our opponents? Until... May? No catches?" Steph shook her head "No, no catches to it, that's all you have to do" She reassured, which made Daniel give Kane a pat on the shoulder "Let's go get ready then" The pair then walked out of the room immediately, this caused Stephanie's smile to turn into an evil smirk "It's all going according to plan...~ My plan is set in action... Now all I have to do is simply wait..." She mumbled to herself, she then returned to finishing up the paperwork that she had left.</p><p>(Listen... I am really poor at fight scenes and IF I did all these matches we could be here all day so I'll only do one at the VERY least, was gonna do three but honestly thats a bit too much for me, so first one is coming right up and then there's gonna be a time skip)</p><p>Team Hell No was preparing for their first match of the month, it was only March so they still had a long way to go before getting their opportunities at some championship gold but they could do it, nothing was in their way and they definitely weren't arguing as much as they used to, this would work out... It just had to, he'd be there for Kane if needed and he knew deep down Kane would be there for him if he needed as well, all they had to do was focus on their goals and get through March and April and things would be smooth sailing from there, after they got ready, they quickly made their way out to the ring, hearing the roar of the crowds got them pumped up, they were definitely ready to face whoever their opponents were, Daniel gave Kane a look who only nodded in return.</p><p>After a few minutes, their opponents were none other than... Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes aka Team Rhodes Scholars, this should be an easy one... They've defeated them before, they can do it again! All they have to do is just... Focus, focus on what the goal is, what the reward will be... They listened as the crowd booed the pair all the way to the ring, the crowd definitely wasn't fond of them that was for sure, after they finished their entrance, the teams took their places and were ready to start the match, Daniel and Damien were the first ones to fight, the referee then rang the bell and the match began, Daniel started things off with a bang and went right after Damien, he was determined to win this match, he was determined to win all their matches, he wanted a shot at some gold, that was for sure.</p><p>Eventually, Damien had gotten the upper hand of Daniel and went on the attack, he was going to try his best to keep him away from his tag team partner, Damien went over and tagged in his partner, Cody Rhodes, who came in strong and immediately started working on Daniel's arm, he needed to injure his arm to prevent him from locking in The Yes Lock in this match, much to Daniel's dismay who tried to get out of Cody's grip on his arm, he wanted to make it over to Kane, he was getting worn down and he definitely needed a break to regain some stamina, Cody definitely had a tight grip and the more he wrenched Daniel's arm the more it began to hurt, eventually... Daniel managed to power out of it and over to Kane to make a tag, and of course the crowd went wild as Kane powered through Cody like he was nothing.</p><p>And for awhile, that's how it was, Kane absolutely manhandled Cody and dominated him throughout the match, after awhile Cody had gained the upper hand and managed to get Kane on the ropes, literally... Which resulted in the referee coming over and counting, if Cody didn't release him by the count of five he'd be disqualified, luckily he did right before the ref managed to say five, he put his hands up in defense  and backed off immediately, after he knew he'd be safe from disqualification he continued his onslaught against Kane, after he got him down he went for the pin only to be interrupted at the count of two by Daniel Bryan, and then Damien came into the ring and attacked Daniel, those two proceeded to take their fight outside the ring, much to the ref's dismay.</p><p>Eventually, Kane had managed to get to his feet and he grabbed Cody by the throat, it was over... Kane then hoisted Cody up into the air and slammed him down, he listened to the crowd roar and cheer, he couldn't help but chuckle at that as he pinned Cody, the ref counted "One! Two! Three!!" The bell rang again, and Kane's music hit as Daniel knocked Sandow down to the ground and slid back into the ring, it took him a minute to realize that the he and Kane had won their first match-up, one step closer! This made Daniel grow more excited, he began to do his chants of 'Yes! Yes! Yes!', he even gave Kane a hug which seemed to stun the big man at first, Kane only gave him on awkward pat on the back in return, after celebrating and soaking in the crowd's cheers, they finally left the ring and headed back stage.</p><p>(Cue a Time Skip because again, I am horrible at fight scenes but also because legit the fights are just gonna be the same thing over n over again and it'll be boring- y'all know who's gonna win already)</p><p>Stephanie was sitting at her desk, once again, mostly just waiting for... Someone it seemed, just then, the door flew open and an excited Daniel Bryan entered the room, Stephanie had a bright smile on her face "Ah! Daniel, I see someone's excited... I must say, what you and Kane did was v e r y impressive... Congratulations!" She exclaimed, meanwhile Daniel grinned "Yeah... Thanks, it was tough but we managed to do it!" Stephanie nodded "Now there's a matter of what championships the both of you want, have you come to a decision with your partner?" Daniel nodded "Yes, we both agreed on the Tag Team Championships, we want a shot at those!" Stephanie's smile widened "I thought you would... Tag Team Championships it is! Now... Let's see when I can schedule that particular match... Hmmm..." Stephanie's smile dropped immediately once she saw the only date she had for the championship match up.</p><p>She glanced up at Daniel with a concerned expression which confused him immensely "What uh, what's wrong? You look like you saw a ghost! When can we have our title shot?" Stephanie took a deep breath "Well... Daniel, uh... You... um... The title shot is on... Ma... Ma-May..." She glanced around for a few seconds and towards the door before finishing her sentence "May... Nineteenth..." Daniel merely rose a brow and shrugged "Eh, doesn't sound that bad to me... It sounds good to me, May Nineteenth it is!" He immediately headed out the door, Stephanie had tried to call out after him but it was too late, after a few moments however... Stephanie only chuckled "...Ah... Good to know Daniel doesn't know the truth about May Nineteenth... He'll find out soon enough... My plan is going so well..." Meanwhile... Daniel was on his way to tell Kane the date their match was set.</p><p>He entered their locker room and had a bright confident smile on his face "So... Stephanie told me when our title match was, she... She was acting weird about the date though, almost like she was... Scared to say it..." Kane seemed interested "...What could give Stephanie such a fright?" Daniel shrugged "I dunno... But anyways, she said our match was on May Nineteenth, we'll have a shot at the Tag Team Titles on that night!" Kane's eyes widened and he silently stared at his partner for a few moments before speaking up "...D a n i e l... What... Did you just say...?" He took a deep breath, he couldn't get angry... Maybe... He just misheard his partner... That's gotta be it... Daniel repeated himself "I said our match is on May. N i n e t e e n t h..." That date echoed inside Kane's head and suddenly... A lot of horrible memories began flooding back to him, his breathing picked up and he clutched his hand into a fist "...Don't. E v e r. say. that... D a t e..." This made Daniel raise his arms up in defense and back off "I... don't get it...? What's wrong with May Nineteenth?" He questioned.</p><p>Kane merely took a deep breath and flipped his hair out of his face "...Just... Promise me Daniel, promise me you won't say that date again..." Daniel could tell Kane was really serious about this and given the fact he really didn't want to be choked out or chokeslammed in the slightest, he nodded "Alright... No more of t h a t date... Got it... Let's just take a breather... And relax a little bit..." Kane gave him a nod and sat down, he stared down at the floor, he understood now why Stephanie was so worried to say that date, he just... needed to ignore it, he didn't want all those memories to come flooding back to him... Otherwise he knew his tag team partner would be in serious danger, he remembers what he did... to The Big Show all those years ago because he said t h a t date.... He shook himself out of those thoughts at the sound of Daniel snapping his fingers "Hey... I'm uh, sorry, I dunno the deal with that date and I won't ask but, I didn't mean to like... Upset you THAT badly, you... good man?" He questioned, he wouldn't deny, he was a little bit nervous when Kane stood up.</p><p>Kane nodded "I'm fine... Just, let's get out there... and prepare... for uh, our... Our matches... We need to focus on those before our title shot..." He spoke, Daniel nodded and followed Kane out of the room, they still had a few matches before that date, they needed to focus on now instead of the future, and that's exactly what they were going to do...</p><p>(Cue a bit of a time skip, like to... May 10th, gotta skip for plot reasons n everything)</p><p>Daniel and Kane had just finished another match, they had lost this one and it was to the actual tag team champions, it wasn't their title shot, it was just a match up between the pairs beforehand to test their strengths and abilities and both Kane and Daniel were pretty angry about their loss, suddenly they were stopped by Michael Cole "Excuse me, Team Hell No... Could I get a word with the both of you about what just happened?" The pair glared at Michael Cole but Daniel spoke into the microphone "Those two... Rollins and Reigns! You won't be so lucky the next time we fight!" He paused, glancing back at Michael Cole before speaking up "Come May Nineteenth we'll-" Daniel immediately stopped talking and his eyes widened, he was just... extremely furious, he didn't... He didn't mean to say it again... He glanced over at Kane who looked shocked and angry and for a moment he got in Daniel's face, this was the moment Cole gunned for an exit, he didn't want to be caught in the crossfire.</p><p>Daniel's eyes were still wide "I'm...- Kane... I'm sorry, I just got caught up in-" Kane quickly grabbed his partner by the throat and tightened his grip "I thought... I told you... NEVER to say that date... A g a i n!" He snapped, his grip threatening to tighten even more, Daniel quickly grasped at Kane's arm "It was an- (cough!) accident!" He yelled out, squeezing and clawing at Kane's arm, desperately trying to break free before he gets choked out, meanwhile Kane's memories came flooding back all at once, he remembered what happened that night... He remembered it all.... He shook his head and threw Daniel to the floor before storming off, leaving the other to cough and splutter on the ground, that was the last straw... Daniel HAD to know what this was all about, he'd just leave Kane alone for awhile and let him cool down while he goes and investigates and what better way to start off than Kane's old tag team partner...</p><p>"Hey... uh, Show, got a sec?" Daniel questioned, The Big Show... One of Kane's old tag team partners, he knew him pretty well... Hopefully he could help Daniel figure this mess out "Uhh yeah, what'cha need?" Big Show questioned, raising a brow and waiting for the other to speak "So uhh... I'm... having some problems..." He paused, glancing at Show before continuing "It... involves Kane..." This made Show sigh "Oh no... Don't tell me y'all are fighting again... What happened this time?" Bryan shook his head "No... Not uh exactly... It... It's not good, it's actually pretty serious..." The Big Show looked on and waited for the other to finish what he was saying "It just... Show, can ya tell me about this date, every time I mention May Nineteenth around Kane he just... stares at me quietly or worse... Things uh got a liiitttle bit... Physical this time" Big Show's expression was one of concern and he sighed "Look, Daniel, lemme tell ya something... This isn't a road you wanna go down, just drop this whole... thing and move on and win your championships, you DON'T wanna do this..."</p><p>Big Show paused and took a breath "You need to just focus on the more important matters... Kane'll settle down in a bit and if you value your air and your life, I suggest n o t mentioning that around him again whatsoever, trust me, it'll be more beneficial to keeping your team alive and not lead to splitting up abruptly... Anyways, good luck with your match, beat the shield and take those tag team titles from them" He gave Daniel a pat on the shoulder and then walked away, Daniel sighed, he knew there was o n e person left and he REALLY didn't want to go find him... Maybe learning about this wasn't worth it... But... his curiosity was eating him alive at this point "Well... Curiosity killed the cat..." He mumbled to himself, walking off... He had to go find h i m... Daniel knew he had to go find... The Undertaker, if ANYONE knew about this, then he sure would... And maybe he'd give more insight than The Big Show did...</p><p>Daniel sighed and walked off, he didn't even know where The Undertaker would be at... As he continued walking, after a good bit he noticed the backstage area getting darker and darker, the lights were... turning to the purple-blue-ish like color, Daniel swallowed harshly, well... Maybe it WOULDN'T be as hard to find him as he thought it would... "Uhh... T-Ta...Taker? ...You... here?" He called out even though he was really beginning to not want to, he was beginning to regret his decisions, this was a bad idea... He continued walking and looking around frantically, the lights flickered for a few minutes which made Daniel flinch, and after a bit the lights went out entirely, and that left Daniel in the darkness for a long while before a deep voice echoed out "Daniel... I know why you're here... And my advice to you is to leave. it. a l o n e... Some things you must let go... In order to move forward, this w i l l have dire consequences u n l e s s you drop the subject at hand and leave it in the past..."</p><p>There was a pause, he could sense Daniel's frustration "There's some things... Especially about me and my little brother... That should s t a y in the past..." The Taker paused once again, before sighing "You probably won't listen... either way, its y o u r funeral if you pursue this topic..." Daniel had listened intently to The Undertaker's words, always so cryptic and mysterious... It was frustrating to him "I just want an answer... That's all I want so I know why Kane... just... hates that date" There was nothing but silence after he spoke, he took a few moments after the silence before speaking again "...T...Taker?" More silence... before the voice echoed from the darkness "Daniel... Forget about that, you need to focus on the t r u e enemy..." Daniel sighed "Yeah yeah I know, The Shield, right?" He questioned, but Taker quickly responded for once "N o... The Shield is not your real enemy here... Keep an eye out... For the true enemy..." This confused Daniel "Wait... What the hell are you talking about?"</p><p>There was nothing this time, even as Daniel called out, he called out two or three times and he got nothing in response, and the lights had came back on and went back to their original color, this made him sigh and run his hands down his face "...So much for that... ...True enemy... What is he talking about?" He sighed again and turned around, he might as well go see if Kane has calmed down enough now... ...And he did kiiinda- okay no he really wanted to go and apologize to him for, well, saying that date again especially after he promised he wouldn't anymore...</p><p>Meanwhile... Kane was pacing up and down the hallways, he sped up on occasion when the voices in his head (ya better go see Randy for that problem buddy) got louder, they increased in volume and that date was piercing his ears at this point, those memories were all flooding back in one instance, those feelings, those thoughts he had once, all of those were coming back and he was feeling that same rage he felt in that one moment... Kane immediately fell to both knees in the middle of the hallway and grasped at his head, grabbing strands of hair in the process, the words of 'May Nineteenth' echoing even louder in his head "St...S t o p  I t...." He muttered to himself, pulling slightly at his hair and breathing heavily.</p><p>Just then... Daniel came around the corner, his eyes widened as he seen his tag team partner on his knees, gripping at his hair and tugging at it "K-Kane!" He immediately ran over and got down on his knees as well, he placed his hand on the other's back "You alright?! What happened?!" Daniel was really concerned, did someone attack him?! They couldn't afford to be attacked right now, things were already tense as it is and not to mention they got a tag team title shot coming up! Daniel then realized what could potentially be wrong "...Kane... I'm very sorry, about uhhh... Well, all of that... I knew this could upset you but I didn't know it could get THIS severe... I'm just, sorry man... I won't mention that date ever again, I swear..." Kane immediately stood up and stared down at Daniel who was beginning to panic a little internally, he didn't know how the other would react.</p><p>Kane was slightly glaring at his tag team partner, he could feel the rage slowly building up, all the anger he had felt at one point was coming back "D a n i e l..." He started, something about his voice... It actually began to unnerve Bryan, he backed off just a bit which just made Kane come a bit closer "If I was you... I would... r u n while you still can..." He finished, this made Daniel's eyes widened as he stepped back again "...You... Heh... You remember how I said I would not be intimidated by you at one point? Well uhhh... You're really starting to... C'mon, let's just... Forget about all this, let's go back to our normal routine, get ready for our tag team titles, because we're going to win the- ack!" He was cut off as Kane grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall "You just don't listen, do you...? I t o l d you to get. o u t. of. h e r e.... To run, why do you never listen to me?! When I give you a s i m p l e request, you don't follow it and you s t a y!"</p><p>Kane seemed to finally notice Daniel was knocked unconscious by the slam, he sighed "You've a l w a y s been a stubborn one, haven't you Daniel? Well guess what? That stubbornness is going to be your e n d..." Kane then proceeded to let the other go and slide down to the floor, he then went over to grab Daniel by the leg and proceeded to drag him down the hallway, he knew what he was going to do and the thoughts of it brought a sadistic grin to his face, he hadn't had these kinds of thoughts in such a long time... Something about it felt... Refreshing, something about the thoughts felt... ...G o o d... He chuckled to himself as he continued to drag his 'tag team partner' down the hallway, it was time to visit a special little area of his, one that he hadn't visited in a l o n g time...</p><p>Eventually... Daniel was slowly coming to consciousness, he heard some mumbling and even the sounds of chains rattling... He slowly opened his eyes and groaned, his vision was blurred and he felt like he had gotten hit by a car almost, he noticed Kane was standing right in front of him, staring down at him with a sadistic smile on his face "Ugh... th-the hell are you doing...?" He mumbled out, he looked around and tried to move, that's when his eyes snapped open and his vision cleared, he realized he was tied up and couldn't move "H-Hey! C'mon man! I know I was a jerk about all that stuff at first, but don't you think this is a little excessive?!" He shouted which only resulted in a chuckle from his 'friend', Kane then walked over and grabbed something, Daniel couldn't quite make out what it was from his position.</p><p>Kane came over and grabbed his 'friend' by the hair and wrenched his head back, he didn't speak at all but merely waited on... Something, suddenly there was rather feminine sounding chuckle and out of the shadows... There came Stephanie with Triple H by her side, Stephanie had a malicious grin on her face "Oh hello there Daniel..." She started, clearing her throat before continuing "Now I bet you are REALLY confused as to what's happening and why, aren't you? Well... It's quite simple..." She paused, letting out another little chuckle, she was clearly pleased with how things had proceeded "See... I was sick and tired of... THAT Kane... The one that would give you hugs, the one that all bark and no bite... He wasn't sadistic enough, he wasn't what the business needed, I wanted the old Kane back, that sick, twisted, and sadistic mind of his... Now THAT is what is best for business... My plan was v e r y was simple... I had to get you to say t h a t date, the one that... Kane absolutely loathes and then well... I'm sure you can put the r e s t together... Surely you aren't THAT idiotic..." Stephanie gave Kane a look, who only grinned at her which she wouldn't deny... That grin DID unnerve her but she merely smirked in return "Go ahead Kane, do what you need to..."</p><p>Daniel couldn't believe what he was hearing right now... She had wanted to turn his own partner a g a i n s t him like THIS?! Using something like this, now that was low, even for Stephanie... Just then... He was struck by a realization, a flashback played in his mind, it was what Taker had said to him, all the things about the true enemy... How it WASN'T The Shield... No... He was talking about... Stephanie! He scoffed "You... you... You are literally insane! I don't know what the hell makes you think ANY of this is what's best for business!" He spat, glaring at the pair, they only gave him a smug grin in return.</p><p>Kane held up the weapon, clear for Daniel to see now, it was some kind of... Spike, that was a weird choice of weapon... but it made his eyes widen nonetheless (a ref to the Kane n Umaga stuff), his tag team partner was about to use that spike against h i m! Kane chuckled and lifted the spike up above Daniel's head, the air was tense, there was nothing but silence before he slowly lowered the spike, this confused Stephanie "Kane, come on, finish him off already! So we can move on from this..." There was still silence, this frustrated Stephanie and even Triple H was getting a little frustrated as well, he stormed over "Did ya hear her? Finish Bryan off! Now!" Kane immediately lunged for Triple H and attacked him, he had dropped the spike while doing so, he threw vicious punches towards Triple H and despite Stephanie's sudden screams and pleads for him to stop, he didn't have any intentions of doing so...</p><p>After the vicious assault, Hunter was left laying on the ground unconscious, Stephanie immediately stormed over and got in Kane's face "What the hell is your problem?! You CANNOT just attack my husband like that and besides your supposed to be getting Daniel for saying May Nineteenth dammit!" It took her a few seconds to realize what had just slipped out of her mouth, her eyes widened as she watched Kane's expression twist into a scowl, he grabbed her by the throat immediately "Let's get one thing straight here... You and Hunter, you two do NOT control me! You can't control a monster!" He bellowed out, and right as he was about to chokeslam her, the lights went out with the infamous bell sounding from all around... The lights stayed out for a few minutes before another bell had sounded off, the lights coming back on to reveal The Undertaker with Stephanie in his grasp now, this had actually given Kane a shock.</p><p>Even then, Kane snarled and glared daggers at his brother "This DOES NOT concern you, deadman!" Undertaker only stared back, not even breaking eye contact as he shoved Stephanie away "Untie Daniel, pick up your husband, and leave... N o w... Unless of course you want to cause more damage than you already have" Stephanie didn't exactly want to argue with The Undertaker of all people, and even though she really didn't want too, she begrudgingly untied Daniel who had surprisingly helped her pick Triple H up, she didn't expect him to help... but of course, unlike Steph, Daniel was not a cruel or evil person, they immediately got out of there as fast as they could go, Taker never breaking eye contact with Kane as he began to speak "So... It's happening all over again, isn't it? The memories... They have come back to haunt you..." Kane shook his head "Shut. Up! I said this doesn't concern you! This is none of your business Taker!" Taker shook his head "Kane, you give into your rage too easily... Look at what it's done to you, your rage, the thoughts, the memories... It has clouded your mind..."</p><p>Kane only chuckled, something about his behavior had entirely shifted, and Taker seemed to notice this and he knew exactly what was going on... "...No... No actually, you see that's where your wrong... These feelings... These thoughts coming back to me... This is a g o o d feeling... I'm glad these memories have come back... Come back and finally woken me up from my daze... Thanks to Daniel, I lost who I truly was... This bond we formed, it's holding me back... I used to be a monster! The Devil's Favorite Demon even! I've let a friendship, I've let humanity... Human emotions in... Something I swore at one point I didn't have, I swore I would never want those filthy emotions! I would not become one of t h e m! No... No no... I am n o t going to let that happen... I. Am. A. M o n s t e r... And I'll prove it!" He lunged for The Undertaker who dodged the attack, Kane only snarled in response and kept attacking "I don't even know why you're getting involved! Just stay. out. of. my. w a y. Deadman..." Taker returned the attacks, each punch getting more and more vicious "I have my reasons... And I am going to put an end to this nonsense before it gets out of control more so than it already has..." When all this was said and done... Taker would be having a little chit-chat with Stephanie and her husband...</p><p>Taker immediately jumped away from Kane and pointed towards the outside "Let's settle this once and for all... In a Buried Alive match..." Kane only sneered at his brother "Fine, have it your way... but this time... I'm going to make sure you STAY buried!" They both headed that way, Kane not hesitating to deliver a cheap shot from behind, they began exchanging blows, not even waiting until they were actually outside... Meanwhile... Daniel had just kicked open the door to Stephanie's office, hauling Triple H along and then gently laying him down on the couch, Daniel glared daggers at Stephanie who was sitting by her husband's side, gently stroking his arm "Oh sweetie... I'm... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean for th-" Daniel shook his head and cut her off "Bullshit! This is entirely your fault! If you hadn't tried getting back this... This old Kane, the m o n s t e r! We wouldn't even be in this situation if it weren't for you! Your husband would be just fine and I'd still have my tag team part... No... No! I'd still have my best friend if it weren't for you!"</p><p>(oh btw yes I know technically a buried alive match happens ringside or whatever but shh, just roll with it)</p><p>Stephanie glared at Daniel for a moment before realizing he was... He was right, none of them would be in this situation right now if it weren't for her... and her poor husband... Poor Hunter wouldn't even be in the state he's in right now if not for her actions, her little plan... And who knows what Taker's even going to do or say after all this... She looked away from Daniel who only continued on "I've lost my best friend to whatever is going through his head right now! He's gone because of you and now he's t h a t monster again! Just... Why?! Don't you realize how stupid and insane all of this was?! Kane isn't going to give up on any of us either, if... If The Undertaker doesn't get through to him or something, he's going to come back for the three of us! And this was for what?! Just... what YOU T H I N K is 'best for business'?! Huh?!" Stephanie shook her head, tears beginning to form in her eyes "J...Just... sHUT UP! SHUT UP! I GET IT, OKAY?!"</p><p>Daniel just sighed and sat down in one of the chairs, grasping at his hair, he hated this... He really hated Stephanie but he didn't... He didn't want to make her cry... He was just exhausted and incredibly frustrated after today's events, he just wanted his best friend back, he just wanted this all to end so he could get some rest... He didn't even figure that supposed tag title match was real either so he had nothing to even look forward too at this point! Stephanie had caused him so much trouble, his best friend had let his monstrous urges take over again and was going on god knows what kind of rampage and he couldn't even do anything about it! He had felt guilty for pushing the May Nineteenth thing so far and even saying it when he promised Kane he wouldn't... Guilt, regret, anger, so many things swirling around Daniel's head and in his mind... He let out a sigh and just sat there in silence...</p><p>Stephanie didn't say a word, she figured he didn't exactly wanna speak right now... Eventually, she heard a groan and looked down, her husband was coming to and she smiled "Hey hun, can you hear me? Are... Are you alright, do you- do you need to go to the Hospital or anything?" Triple H looked at her and shook his head "No, no Hospital... Damn, my head... Everything's a bit of a blur to be honest... What happened?" Stephanie was about to speak but Daniel surprisingly spoke up before she got a chance "Your little wife's plan backfired, Kane attacked you and now he is on a rampage and Undertaker is dealing with him currently" He had venom behind his tone as he spoke, Hunter had picked up on it and was about to say something else it seemed before he looked at the tv in the room and froze, Stephanie followed his gaze and her eyes widened "Oh my god..." She mumbled out, Daniel rose a brow and glanced back at the tv only to see Undertaker and Kane viciously attacking each other like rabid savage dogs, he noticed the empty grave near them and his eyes widened as well.</p><p>"Are they..." Daniel began, Hunter followed with a nod "Buried Alive match... Looks like Kane's getting the upperhand against Taker... God forbid Kane actually wins this match..." Daniel shook his head and stood from his seat "NO! He can't bury Kane! That's my best friend dammit! Monster or no monster!" He rushed out of the room, Triple H was about to get up and go after him but he groaned in pain, he was too sore to move "He's going to get slaughtered if he goes out there! Taker n Kane are not exactly people you wanna mess with!" He sighed in frustration, he shouldn't have let Stephanie go through with her plan, he should've stopped her. what was he thinking?! Letting this get to this point... It's not what's best for business anymore, this is a nightmare for the business! Stephanie looked at her husband and then at the door "...I'll go after him and try to help him... It's the LEAST I can do after all I've caused..." Hunter shook his head "Steph no, it's too dangerous! You can't!" Stephanie looked at Hunter "I can, and I am, I've got too, I'll be back I promise just get some rest for now okay?"</p><p>She gave Hunter a kiss and then immediately left after Daniel despite her husband calling out for her not to run off after them, such a stubborn woman she was ...Probably one of the many reasons he loved her, meanwhile... Undertaker was on the ground, taking a severe beating from his brother, he tried to block the hits as best he could, not succeeding too much, eventually he managed to roll Kane over and deliver a similar if not more powerful beating to him, after that Kane had threw Taker off of himself and got up immediately, grabbing a steel chair that was nearby and hitting the other repeatedly with it, after the chair broke he threw it down and snarled "THIS IS WHAT YOU GET!" He screamed at Taker, picking him up off the ground and carrying him over to the grave, he was about to drop his disoriented brother into the hole but then he stopped dead in his tracks, he had malicious grin on his face and pulled the other away from the grave, not yet... It was too soon... He wanted his brother to suffer for a little bit longer...</p><p>He was getting some heavy and hard shots in, he was actually taking control of this match and d a m n did it feel good... To finally be in control, to have dominance over his older brother like this, the thoughts of his brother's suffering made him chuckle, Kane had the upperhand for the longest time until suddenly Undertaker seemed to have a lot more fight in him, he popped back up and immediately went to town, hammering away at Kane's abdomen, after that Kane had charged at him and Taker immediately raised his leg up to deliver a big boot right to the face, and just like that Kane was down... Taker grabbed him by the arm and slowly dragged him over to the grave, that's when Daniel came running out there, he saw Kane be tossed into the grave and he immediately ran over "NO! TAKER! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" He shouted, looking the deadman in the eyes, Taker looked at him and shook his head "It's got to be done, boy... This is the only way..." Daniel shook his head "No! No it's not the only way! I can... I can... I can talk to him!" The Undertaker stared at the other as if he had went completely crazy "There ain't no talkin' to him once he's like this... It's like keeping a rabid dog alive..." Taker paused, clearing his throat before continuing.</p><p>"Ya can't save 'em... No matter what'cha do... All their gonna do is suffer an' try to kill ya in the end..." He finished, Daniel shook his head "Just give me a chance! Please! He's... Kane's my best friend, I have to try!" Kane's expression twisted into one of disgust at what he heard, he rose from the grave and got out, he glared daggers at Daniel "Get. O u t. Of. H e r e... N o w..." He shoved Daniel back, making sure to mind the grave, that was reserved for his brother... However... if the other refused to leave, he'd happily make a grave for Daniel as well... Daniel shook his head "C'mon Kane... Listen, I'm... Sorry, I should have never pushed that stuff so far, I shouldn't have said the date when I promised I wouldn't..." Kane shook his head and laughed, this laugh sounded much... Different than Kane's usual laugh, granted even his normal laughter still sounded a bit unnerving, even as he spoke... Something was... Off... Something was different "Oh no Daniel... You see that's where I actually have to thank you... You kept pushing and slipping up, you kept saying that date... I've got to give credit to Steph as well... You both have allowed me to reawaken the monster I used to be..."</p><p>Kane took a pause, getting closer to Daniel who just backed up, Taker still keeping his guard up just in case Kane had tried a surprise attack "I'm finally what I was always meant to be again... Being partners with you, being f r i e n d s with you made me lose sight of that... It gave me these h u m a n emotions... I let myself become w e a k! I'm n o human, I don't f e e l those kinds of pathetic emotions! I AM A MONSTER! A FREAK!" Daniel's eyes widened, he didn't like this... He wouldn't deny, he was definitely becoming a little terrified of Kane but he couldn't let fear get in his way "Kane... You were never w e a k for gaining whatever human emotions you got! You've never been weak, you can literally pick The Big Show up in the air and hold him there! I sure as hell can't do half the things you do! These emotions, whatever it is... Hasn't made you weak in the slightest! You can destroy your opponents with the slightest of ease and not even feel guilty about it in the end!" He thought for a moment before smiling "Remember how we decimated all those guys in the ring? With the chairs? They begged us to stop and yet we wouldn't, you didn't even bat an eye! You kept on hitting them with everything you had!"</p><p>Kane tilted his head, staring at Daniel intensely, he had thought back to that moment... That... That was a pretty interesting moment... All those pleads for them to stop, the agony those two caused... The d e s t r u c t i o n... For a moment there was a flicker of something aside from rage, pure hatred, or even that sadistic look... Daniel continued on "Oh and! Cody, Sandow, m a n were they practically ASKING for it when they messed with us all those times! We had such good times together... Sure there were ups and downs and still kinda are but I think that can be said about pretty much EVERY tag team that's ever existed! We were and still are the greatest tag team, right partner? Whaddya say? Team Hell No forever?" Daniel grinned and opened his arms, presumably for a hug... Kane stared for a few moments, head tilted before he chuckled and opened his arms slowly "C'mere... P a r t n e r..." Daniel looked so relieved, so happy... Did his talk really work? Did... Did he just get his partner back? He immediately went for the hug, Taker called out for him to stop but it was too late... Kane wrapped his arms around Daniel, it looked like a normal hug and even felt like one... He even gave Daniel a pat on the back.</p><p>And then in that one singular moment, it all went wrong... Kane's grip tightened and Daniel wheezed "Uh, Kane? You're uh, squeezing a little hard there for a hug?" The other's grip only tightened even more which caused Daniel to struggle and try to fight his way out of it "What the hell?!" Kane let him go and then immediately grabbed him by the throat, preparing for a chokeslam before Undertaker came from behind and began attacking Kane, once Kane was on the ground, he glared over at Daniel "Dammit boy! Don't you ever listen?! You fell for the oldest trick in the damn book!" He growled, Kane giving his brother a swift uppercut which pretty much threw him for a loop, Kane immediately stood and laughed "Oh poor Daniel... Still too naive to see, that human side of me? IT'S GONE! IT'S DEAD AND IT'S NEVER COMING BACK!" He immediately went after Daniel who scooted back "I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A MONSTER! I CARE FOR NO ONE ELSE, NONE OF THE OTHERS, NONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO SHUN FREAKS LIKE ME AWAY AND CERTAINLY. N O T. Y O U..."</p><p>Daniel winced at that, wow... Something about that, actually... Stung... Kane's words actually got to him this time, he didn't have much time to react to it otherwise as he was picked up by the throat again, grasping and tearing at the hand that was cutting off his air supply, he hoisted his former tag team partner into the air and he finally managed to deliver a chokeslam, after that however, Undertaker came back, unleashing all his fury onto Kane, throwing lefts and rights, kicks, and even a few chokeslams of his own, after this... Stephanie had came out, while they were distracted fighting each other she gasped as she saw Daniel laying on the ground, clutching his throat, she immediately came running over to check on him, usually she'd be more than happy to see Daniel in pain but not... Not this time... She noticed there were actually tears coming out of his eyes, she picked him up and he didn't even seem to notice or care about making some remarks to her, she helped him walk away from the fight and back into the arena.</p><p>Stephanie was tense as she spoke, she didn't want to upset Daniel anymore than he already was "Are... You alright? Is anything broken...?" Daniel just shook his head, not responding at all with words before he suddenly stopped, forcing Stephanie to stop with him, there was tension in the air before he tore away from her grasp and ran back outside, ignoring Steph calling after him to come back, he ran back out and straight towards Kane, this time not even trying to talk with him, he delivered a swift punch to the back of the other's head and then proceeded to tackle him to the ground, delivering punches left and right as The Undertaker stopped dead in his tracks and looked on, Daniel didn't let up in the slightest, he got off of Kane and as the other sat up, he immediately delivered some of his infamous 'Yes Kicks', he didn't exactly have a crowd of people to chant yes as he did them but that didn't matter right now, he was entirely fixated on Kane right now, he had even forgotten that Taker was even present right now.</p><p>Kane couldn't deny, he was thoroughly surprised by Daniel's sudden comeback, by his sudden attacks and kicks, after he was finished, Kane sat up however and immediately fought back, he grinned at Daniel's expression, it was a mixture of hurt and even some sorrow "Aww... What's wrong Daniel? Did I hurt your pathetic little feelings? Were my words too harsh for you?!" His former partner didn't speak, he just continued to fight on with everything he had, Kane returned this meanwhile Undertaker just watched on, sure he had started this match but he could tell... Daniel needed to do this more so than he did, he'd let the two of them fight it out... The two former friends battled it out, giving it all they could, Daniel had eventually managed to put Kane on the ground again and he finally spoke "You want to be a monster? Fine! I'll treat you like a damn monster! Except the difference here is I. am. not. afraid. of. MONSTERS!" He walked over and grabbed a kendo stick, repeatedly proceeding to hit the other over, and over, and over, and over again with the weapon.</p><p>Kane was getting to the point of exhaustion, like it or not... He still had some humanity in him, some human-like qualities, he was already worn down from fighting his brother earlier... Daniel however had p l e n t y of stamina left, he had plenty of fight left to give, he had hit Kane so hard that the kendo stick actually broke! He threw the broken stick to the side and grabbed Kane and dragged him over to the grave, Taker continued to look on, he had to admit... He was impressed by Daniel, despite being so offensive and aggressive, he had managed to mostly keep control over this fight, however it was still far from over... Despite Kane's exhaustion becoming apparent, he had a lot of resilience, it'd take more than a mere kendo stick to put him down... As Daniel had managed to push him into the grave, Kane was standing up in it, this frustrated Bryan to no ends as he tried to punch him to knock him down, he never thought he'd see the day again where he fights who he considered his best friend... He did have hope, hope that this would knock some sense into the other, he was just desperate at this point, he needed to do something and talking clearly wouldn't work.</p><p>Daniel just had to remember... This wasn't his best friend Kane, this was the Monster Kane... This was something entirely different than what his best friend was, sure, he could be a monster to others... but never to Daniel, they were partners through thick and thin, the toughest of battles... But right now... They were bitter enemies, it's funny... It almost feels like when they first started out as a tag team, all the fighting and shouting... Daniel shook his head, he couldn't afford to be distracted right now, he continued to punch at Kane who eventually gave the other a swift and hard uppercut, he climbed out of the grave as Daniel was dazed by the hit and then proceeded to take control of the fight, he glanced over at Undertaker who was still observing, it was clear Taker wouldn't interfere, but... The Undertaker had his reasons for not doing so, he knew Daniel didn't want any help, just like he wouldn't want any help in a fight of his... No, he knew that Daniel had to battle his own demons, so he wouldn't intervene.</p><p>Kane then focused back on his former partner and began to assault him, punches, kicks, chokeholds, and even using weapons, Daniel was laying on the ground in agony at this point, his body just took way too much, more than it needed... Kane then picked him up and slung him over his shoulder, carrying him to the grave and staring Undertaker down as he did so, the deadman still did not interfere... Even if Daniel was to be buried, he wouldn't interfere... Kane had threw Daniel into the grave who was still writhing in agony, being thrown definitely didn't help that, and then Kane grabbed the shovel and began shoveling the dirt into the hole, even though this grave originally meant for his brother, Daniel had brought this upon himself... So he'll gave the other what he wanted, at first... It looked as though Daniel was finished, but after a few minutes... He immediately stood up, pushing the dirt off of himself and delivering another hit that stunned Kane and made him drop the shovel, Daniel quickly grabbed the shovel, wincing in pain... His body felt like it was on fire from the abuse it had took, but he couldn't let Kane win! He climbed out of the grave and waited, shovel in hand and the moment Kane turned around...</p><p>Boom! Daniel used the shovel to hit him over the head, however... Daniel's look of determination, look of triumph quickly faded into one of sheer terror as Kane didn't go down... The other was looking down and then slowly lifted his head up and stared at Daniel, those menacing eyes boring deep into his soul, he made no advances towards him so Daniel took this opportunity to strike him again with the shovel, again, it didn't seem to effect him in the slightest! This made Kane advance towards the other who instantly began backing up, it was like a predator closing in on its prey... Daniel screamed in frustration and immediately tried to hit the other again but this time Kane had caught the shovel and tore it from Daniel's grasp, throwing it off to the side "Oh Daniel... You'll have to try harder than that if you want to put this monster down..." He smirked, advancing towards Daniel who immediately dodged the incoming attack, he was becoming absolutely exhausted, just dodging the next few attacks instead of fighting back, he just wanted his friend back... He just wanted all this to end so things could go back to normal.</p><p>Why did he have to continue on with that stupid date? Why did he have to push like that? Why did he let Kane... Give into those memories, those thoughts especially! He could've done something, ANYTHING to prevent this! And Stephanie... She caused all this nonsense in the first place! While he was lost in thought and distracted, Kane had managed to land a punch straight into Daniel's jaw which made him stumble and fall backwards, he didn't get back up immediately this time, he didn't even fight back now as Kane began to land more and more hits on him, however after awhile of this the monster paused and glared down at Daniel "Why aren't you fighting back anymore? Aww... Is the poor little human tired now? Well don't worry, I'll give you a p e r f e c t little resting place soon!" Daniel could feel the burning in his body grow stronger as each hit landed however he didn't fight back, he was growing tired of the fighting... This had confused Kane as he picked Daniel up by the throat and held him upright, he wasn't applying any pressure, he tilted his head as he stared into the other's tired eyes.</p><p>"Fight back dammit! Or do you just want to let me win? You want the suffering to end? Because if you do... Well I have some bad news for you then, Daniel..." Daniel looked into the other's eyes "I didn't want to fight you in the first place... You just left me no choice... Kane, I... We were best friends... I just want things to go back to normal, us, together causing destruction and decimating our opponents... Instead of... Instead of decimating each other..." He spoke hoarsely, watching as Kane's expression twisted into a sneer "Pathetic..." He began, meanwhile Taker had slowly began making his way over, Kane slowly began to squeeze Daniel's throat, the other had tried to at least struggle his way out of the hold, and then just as Undertaker was about to strike his brother, Kane moved out of the way and this caused Taker to hit Daniel instead who instantly collapsed to the ground, Kane seemed to notice this and he stopped dead in his tracks to stare at his brother and then Daniel, something about that had caught his attention, Undertaker noticed his brother's expression falter slightly and that gave him some ideas...</p><p>Taker slowly looked down at Daniel and picked him up, thankfully he wasn't unconscious just yet, he mumbled into the other's ear so Kane couldn't hear "I've got a plan, boy... Follow my lead..." He began to assault Daniel who didn't understand any of that, Kane merely tilted his head and watched in confusion, just what was his brother doing...? Daniel was just as confused as Kane, he tried to fight back against Taker, he wasn't just going to stand there and take a beating after all, despite how much pain he was in... Him fighting back didn't work as well as he'd hoped however, and Taker continued to viciously assault him, even insulting him while doing so, all the while he was glancing back at his brother who's expression twitched a little bit at this... Daniel seemed to catch this and he looked over and noticed it as well, suddenly... He had more hope... He had thought back to when Big Show in particular tried to attack him, at first Kane was laughing at his misery but the moment The Big Show had tried to knock him out, Kane instantly came running down and stood face-to-face with the other... Maybe this could work...</p><p>He gave Undertaker a look and the two nodded at each other, Taker had more so control in this fight than Daniel, but the other would still try to fight back, he couldn't let Kane figure out their plan, meanwhile... Kane was standing there in shock and confusion, he thought for a moment before he realized what he thought was happening and grinned "Well well well... Your little savior has turned into your worst nightmare, now hasn't he, Daniel? Trusting him of all people? You really are pathetic and naive..." Kane crossed his arms and watched as this unfolded before him, he had to admit... While this was amusing to him, something in the back of his head was bothering him... Watching Daniel get beaten up should've been a satisfying feeling! So why did it... Bother him? Tch, he shook his head, the human emotions were just trying to get to him again, trying to trick him... That's all... He wouldn't fall for it again, not this time... He's a monster, always has been and always will be, monsters can't have any human emotions...</p><p>Taker continued his vicious attack on Daniel, throwing lefts and rights, hitting him in all the spots that Kane had injured, and yet Kane had watched as this onslaught continued, not doing anything about it, he was enjoying himself and struggling to push those thoughts away, Daniel looked towards Taker and whispered "It isn't working...!" Taker shook his head and whispered back "Give it time..." The Undertaker had nodded towards Kane and Daniel looked over, he saw the sadistic grin spread across his face but he also noticed something else was there... And then they continued throwing fists at each other, Daniel had began kicking at Taker, trying his damnedest to fight back because despite this being a plan of The Undertaker's, he knew that Taker wouldn't just go easy on him, no... He'd fight against Daniel with all this might which meant Daniel himself also had to give it his all, after he managed to get Taker down, he walked over and grabbed the shovel, dragging it back over and then he raised it high above his head.</p><p>Before he could slam it down on his opponent, Taker grabbed him by the throat, causing him to drop the shovel, and as he raised Daniel into the air, something about that made Kane's grin falter, his expression became... almost one of anger, he took a few steps but stopped himself, what was he doing?! He didn't care if Daniel got chokeslammed! He didn't care about the other or anyone else for that matter... He watched on as Taker delivered the chokeslam successfully to his bes... ...F o r m e r... Best friend... And this caused Kane's expression to twitch again, Taker glanced back and noticed this, his plan was working... Kane was doing e x a c t l y what he wanted too, he just needed to really seal the deal but with what... He thought for a moment before he slowly turned around to gaze at Daniel again, watching as the other pathetically grabbed onto him, trying desperately to pull himself up, once Daniel stood up, Taker grabbed him and turned him upside down for the Tombstone Piledriver "This is the end of the line for you, D a n i e l..."</p><p>Taker was about to deliver his finishing move but Kane came up from behind and spun Undertaker around immediately, he practically tore Daniel away from his brother's grasp and let him fall to the ground, something in Kane had just... Snapped suddenly... Some sort of possessive protective instinct was there and he was glaring daggers at his brother, he stood over Daniel like a protective guard dog, he didn't make any advances towards his brother but it was clear he'd lunge if the other tried to make any moves towards his partner, Taker of course didn't make anymore advances, he just stopped and stood there... Daniel looked up at Kane in pure shock, he was too exhausted to even move at this point, he was afraid to even speak up... He was scared this was just another trick from the monster... Scared that if he spoke up, maybe this plan would be ruined... He just continued to stare, the tension in the air was almost suffocating, Taker then backed off immediately, usually he'd be enraged that someone interrupted his Tombstone but for once, he was actually... Thankful... Kane then looked back at Daniel who flinched at the other's gaze, he was still too terrified to speak, a few moments had passed before Kane turned around and knelt down "...D a n i e l...?" Kane's tone had sounded... Much different than previously.</p><p>"Are you... Alright...?" He spoke, awkwardly, then again Kane has never been one for comfort or really used to asking if others are alright, Daniel opened his mouth but no words had came out... He was still a little bit scared before he glanced over at Taker who only nodded his head and then relief flooded over Daniel's body ...Well... Somewhat anyways, he looked back at Kane and smiled and began laughing slightly "...I... Is that... You? Is... Is that my best friend...? Or... Are you messin' with me? C'mon man... We..." He coughed and spluttered before continuing "You've already fooled me once, just cut the bullshit if you are..." Kane was silent, this had unnerved Daniel... But then came Kane shaking his head "No... I'm not... I... Daniel, w h a t. did. I. d o?" It wasn't because Kane didn't remember, he did... But he had hoped that maybe it was just... A nightmare, some form of bad dream? That nothing he was seeing right now was real before him... Daniel looked at him and saw the worry and emotions beginning to twist on Kane's face "...Well, where do I even start...?"</p><p>Daniel paused, before sighing "...I- Look, I don't blame you... You weren't in control of yourself, were you? The demon, the monstrous side took hold of you again, or... Something like that, yeah?" And there went Kane's hope of it all just being a bad dream, so he really did do a l l that... He hurt his tag team partner, he hurt... His best friend... He let his emotions, his memories, his thoughts all get to him... He wouldn't have cared about hurting anyone else but why out of EVERYONE did it have to be Daniel?! He couldn't... He just... He clutched his head and backed away, he let out a scream of pure frustration, this was all too much... Undertaker had turned and proceeded to leave, he would take this opportunity to go talk with Stephanie while those two worked through this... Daniel had tried to stand up but he just couldn't muster up the strength or energy which just made Kane feel even more guilt, how could Daniel NOT blame him?! After everything he did... All the pain he caused, when he was just... He didn't want to hurt Daniel, at least, not after becoming friends with him... He had even wanted to protect the other despite him getting on Kane's nerves sometimes.</p><p>Daniel watched as Kane began pacing back and forth, clutching at his head and breathing heavily, he was a bit tense as he looked on, considering this is what Kane usually does before his anger gets the best of him... But Kane didn't look angry at Daniel, no, not this time... He looked more so angry at himself and upon looking closer, Daniel's eyes widened... Kane was... crying, he had tears pouring down his mask and this was a complete shock for Daniel, Kane was usually NEVER the type to cry, and even if he did, Daniel would expect that he'd go back to a place where nobody could find him until he was finished... This is the first time Daniel has EVER seen his partner cry... He was silent for a moment "Kane... C'mon, look at me buddy..." Kane continued pacing around before he stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned his head towards Daniel to stare at him, seeing all the bruises, the scars, and even the blood on Daniel's body, knowing it was caused by him bothered him immensely, usually he wouldn't care if someone was battered and beaten, but Daniel was a different story.</p><p>"I can promise you that... I don't blame you, in the slightest... You weren't in control of yourself, all the anger you felt, all those memories suddenly rushing back, and even those thoughts coming back to you... It all overwhelmed you, didn't it? I know you wouldn't have done any of those things... Had you been fully in control of yourself..." Kane listened as Daniel spoke before shaking his head "Daniel, it doesn't change the fact I hurt you, hell I damn near KILLED you! How can you NOT blame me?! Things could've gotten so much worse..." Daniel cut him off "But things didn't! And it wasn't like you WANTED to do those things, right? You didn't actually WANT to hurt me, did you?" Kane shook his head "Hell no! I mean... Listen, I know we've had our arguments, plenty of disagreements and we've sure as hell had some pretty bad fights with each other but... I never WANTED to hurt you, NOT intentionally and damn sure not on purpose... I actually consider you a..." He paused, looking Daniel in the eyes before continuing "A f r i e n d... A best friend even..." The other had taken a moment before speaking up "I'm sorry... What was that? I didn't quite catch that?"</p><p>Kane continued to stare Daniel straight in the eyes, repeating himself a second time "I said... I consider you a best friend, Daniel..." The other smirked and chuckled "I heard you the first time... I just wanted to hear those words again..." Kane stared at the other in disbelief now, before sighing and grinning, this time his grin definitely had no malicious intent behind it but it still did look a bit unsettling... "You are... Unbelievable, you know that? Even after everything I just did to you... You STILL care about me, you don't blame me, you don't even want to run away or stay away from me... You really are too stubborn for your own good, Daniel..." He chuckled before Bryan spoke up "Okay first of all, yes, yes I do... I can't just NOT care about my best friend! Second, I am and always will be stubborn you big red softie..." Kane glared at those words and sighed in irritation "...Don't make me regret my words already, it's too early for that... And do NOT call me that e v e r again..." Daniel rolled his eyes "Whatever you say..." He whispered the next part to himself "Big red softie..."</p><p>Kane crossed his arms "I'm sorry, WHAT was that last part?" Daniel shook his head quickly despite that making him wince "Nothing, nothing! Don't worry about it... I'm just... Glad everything's back to normal... Ya know? This has been a wild ride... From start to finish... I wonder how Steph's doing, I can't even imagine what your brother is doing or saying to her right now..." Kane nodded "After the shit she started? And considering he, of all people, had to come out here and get involved? I don't imagine it's too pretty... Honestly though? She deserves e v e r y  b i t of whatever she's getting..." Speaking of them... Back at Stephanie's office, Taker was in there, arms crossed and glaring at the couple "If I EVER have to deal with this kind of bullshit from you two again, the next time you see me... WILL be your last, I'll drag the both of YOU down to hell instead, do y'all understand?" Hunter and Stephanie nodded, Stephanie sighed "Taker, I'm sor-" He cut her off by shaking his head "I ain't the one you both need to apologize too... You KNOW who you must apologize too..." And with that, the lights went out, once they came back on, Taker was gone...</p><p>Back outside... It was silent now, it was awhile before Daniel finally spoke up "Can we get outta here now? I'd like to go back to our locker room and rest up for a bit..." Kane nodded and was about to proceed off before Daniel called out "...Kane?" The other turned around "Yes?" There was a long pause before Daniel grinned "...I literally can't move... You got me pretty badly, and Taker... Going through with his plan, that took... Everything out of me..." Kane sighed and nodded, he walked back over and scooped Daniel up bridal style, being careful for once to not agitate the other's wounds "...If you tell anyone I cried or said any of the things I did, I will eviscerate you... Do you understand?" Daniel smiled "Will not..." As Kane began walking back inside "Will too..." Daniel responded with yet another "Will not...!" His best friend also responded with another "Will too!" And the two went back and forth with 'will not's' and 'will too's' as they headed back inside, Kane heading straight to their locker room, once they got there, he laid Daniel down on one of the benches as gently as he could.</p><p>Kane then sat beside him on the other bench, he wasn't going to just leave him there, anyone else could come in and easily take advantage of his partner's injuries and he wasn't about to let that happen, Daniel laid there in silence for awhile, before he noticed Kane's deadpan expression, he didn't know if he was just sitting there and thinking or if something else was going on... "Is something wrong?" Kane looked over and he sighed "Thinkin' about everything that happened... How we wouldn't have even went through that... Had it not been for Stephanie starting all this mess..." And then he was fiddling with his glove, pulling it up and he began clenching his fist, this made Daniel sigh "Yeah... Just, calm down... I know what she did, just... I'm sure Taker got that sorted out, so we don't have to worry about he-" He was cut off by a knock at the door which immediately made Kane stand up, he was in a defensive position and standing close to Daniel who called out "Who's there?" And then came a feminine voice "Daniel...? Can... Can we come in, please?" Kane glared at the door, he wanted to go out there and tear them apart already but Daniel shook his head and mouthed 'Don't'</p><p>There was a long pause before Daniel spoke up "Come on in!" The door slowly opened and the moment they saw inside, the pair froze and their eyes went wide, they were not expecting to see Kane, especially not him standing protectively over Daniel, Triple H was the one to speak up after an awkward amount of silence and staring "I...Is... Is he... You know...?" Daniel nodded "He's fine, at least, he is now... No thanks to you two..." There was some bitterness behind his tone as he spoke, of course... Steph and Hunter couldn't exactly be mad at him, it was absolutely fair on his part, Stephanie and Hunter then stepped inside the room, keeping a good distance from Daniel because Kane just had his eyes fixated on them, he wasn't speaking at all which just made it more nerve wracking... Stephanie had taken a seat on one of the benches, Hunter sitting right beside her, Steph then cleared her throat "Are... You alright...? You look pretty... um..." Daniel cut her off before she could finish "Battered? Beaten? Bloodied? Why the hell do you think I'm alright after all that? After all you caused!" He was definitely getting angry now, he even tried to sit up which resulted in him cringing in pain.</p><p>Kane looked back at him "Daniel, lay down, and don't move... You're going to make the pain worsen..." He then looked at Stephanie, an intense glare on his face, how he wanted to just chokeslam her through the very concrete at this point, he wanted to chokeslam her to hell, he'd love to do the same thing to Hunter as well... And when it came to those two? He definitely wouldn't feel any guilt or remorse... Stephanie was silent after that, looking down and sighing "...Kane, Daniel... I would like to... To formally apologize... For all I've caused, I didn't... Think it'd go this far, I know apologizing won't fix it but-" Kane was the one surprisingly to interrupt "No, apologizing WON'T fix it, you did ALL of this, LOOK at what you made me do to my tag team partner! My best friend! You used t h a t date of all things to provoke me, to turn me back..." He was breathing heavily and he had started to approach Stephanie which made Hunter rise from his seat, he wouldn't just let him doing anything to her, that was his wife! No matter what she had done...</p><p>Daniel spoke up "Kane! Just... Sit down and take some deep breaths..." It took the other a few moments to listen before he sighed and walked back over, sitting near Daniel and at this point Stephanie was trying to hide the tears going down her face and her sobs, Daniel sighed "Listen, Steph... What you did was way out of line, your little stunt even got The Undertaker involved, and I imagine he came back and talked to you about it, but either way... What's done is done, and honestly... I don't know about Kane but I'm ready to just... Move on from all this, will I forgive you? I just... Don't know if I can yet... Will Kane forgive you?" He glanced over at his tag team partner who locked eyes with him "...Something about that look in his eye tells me it's a hell no..." Stephanie nodded "I... I understand Daniel, what I did was foolish, and it was not what was best for business... But... You know what... IS best for business...?" Both of them glanced over at her quizzically, she paused and cleared her throat "Well... Before we came in here, me and Hunter were... Discussing what had happened... And... Well, I think we can both agree that, when you are back in good health, whenever the both of you want... That tag title match is still out there... You can still accept it if you want, I mean it's the very LEAST I can do after all I've caused..."</p><p>Daniel and Kane then looked at each other, staring for a few moments before nodding and then the chant of "Yes! Yes! Yes" Although Daniel couldn't move his arms for it, he could still chant it loud and proud, this made Stephanie smile "Alright then it's official... Team Hell No versus Rollins and Reigns for the Tag Team Titles! ...Of course for now, please... Try and get some rest, I'll send some doctors in to further assist in patching you up..." She stood up along with Hunter "Good luck, I'm sure the two of you will e v i s c e r a t e Rollins and Reigns and win those titles" And with that, she and Hunter walked out of the room, Daniel and Kane both gave each other grins, they couldn't wait for this... Well... At least now not only did Daniel have his tag team partner, his best friend back... Now he's got tag titles to look forward to! This was going to be great, he just knew it...</p><p>A lot of time had passed since that day, and here they were, Daniel back in tip top shape, in perfect health which he was more than happy about but also it was the day of their match... He watched as Kane came into the locker room and the pair locked eyes with each other, Kane was the one to speak up "Daniel, I just want to let you know... That when we DO win those titles... That /I\ am going to be the tag team champions..." Daniel looked at Kane, he hid the grin that threatened to spread across his face and made a look of mock anger, he took a moment before shouting "NO! NO! NO! IT'S M E WHO'S GONNA BE THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!" Kane shook his head, also putting on a look of mock anger "IS NOT!" Daniel then retorted back "IS TOO!" And the two went back and forth once more with that before they just couldn't hide the grins any longer, they both gave each other a hug, still a little awkwardly and then pat each other on the back "Glad everything's back to normal... C'mon, let's go show Rollins and Reigns who their messin' with!" Daniel exclaimed, once Kane nodded, the pair were off... Off to fight the Tag Team Champions and then... They themselves, would go on to win the match and become the new Tag Team Champions, it was truly the happiest of days... For Team Hell No...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(Imma be honest with y'all I only chose Rollins n Reigns bc I knew they held those titles at one point lmao but either way its done!! I got some things to say, 1: Imma spare y'all the bad ending </p><p>2: This project like, at first I wasn't even going to try writing for these characters tbh it was just gonna be on my wwe 2k14 game and thats it but I couldn't have done NEAR the shit I did had I not opened up my notepad and tried it out 3: it might not be fully in character or kayfabe compliant whatever you call it but honestly? I dont care- im proud of this story nonetheless and I mean hell this is my first time writing with these characters, I can only improve over time I guess but anyways thats enough of me ramblin I hope y'all enjoyed this, it was a delight to work on)</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>